The Pune Metro project and its expansion were inaugurated through a video conference by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 3, with the project valued at nearly Rs 21,800 crore, according to a report by Lokmat. The programme also included the foundation-laying of various related works.
The inauguration marks another step in the expansion of mass rapid transit in Pune, where the metro is being positioned as a way to reduce passenger travel time and improve access to public transport. Addressing the event, Modi said the project reflected the government’s approach to building cities for a developed India and linked improved urban mobility with productivity and economic activity.
“Whenever a city’s time is saved, the city’s productivity increases. When the city’s productivity increases, the country’s economy gains momentum, and when the economy grows, both the poor and the middle class benefit,” Modi said, as quoted by Lokmat.
The Prime Minister also contrasted the current pace of metro development with the period before 2014. He said India had only 248 kilometres of metro routes after three decades from the launch of the country’s first metro service in 1984, and that metro services were available in only five cities in 2014. According to the figures cited in his address, India now has approximately 1,200 kilometres of metro routes across 26 cities, with more than one crore passengers using metro services each day.
Modi said the growth of metro systems had also changed the way cities were assessed. In addition to their industries, food and agricultural output, cities were increasingly being judged by their competitiveness and ease of living, he said. The Pune Metro expansion, according to the address, was intended to support both objectives by providing faster and more convenient urban transport.
The address also placed Pune’s project within Maharashtra’s broader metro expansion. Modi said the state had only about 10 to 11 kilometres of operational metro lines when the National Democratic Alliance first formed a government in Maharashtra, while nearly 200 kilometres are now in service. He added that work on around 680 kilometres of metro lines was under way across the state.
According to the figures cited by the Prime Minister, more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore is being invested in metro infrastructure in Maharashtra. He said the investment was generating work for labourers and engineers and supporting employment in shops and factories connected to construction and infrastructure activity.
The report did not provide the specific stations, route sections, operating dates or passenger-service changes associated with the newly inaugurated Pune works. Further details on the project’s next implementation milestones and the operational impact on commuters will determine how quickly the expansion translates into additional metro connectivity for Pune residents.
